The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for playing a casino card game and, more particularly, to an enhanced casino version of an old gambling game that incorporates a novel mode of wager resolution.
Around a hundred years ago, the most popular casino game in the United States was Faro. Today, Faro is not operational anywhere. Unfortunately, the game attracted dishonest dealers and operators and so gained a bad reputation with players. When regulated gaming ensured that games were run fairly, Faro was regarded as a difficult game for casino operators to win at, and a 5% commission on winnings was introduced. With the growth of other casino games such as Craps, Blackjack and Baccarat, the game of Faro passed into gaming history.
The table layout consisted of thirteen bet areas, one for each of the thirteen ranks of standard playing cards, with suits being ignored. A player could bet either that a card could be a winner or that a card could be a loser. Betting that a card would be a loser was defined by placing a coin or marker on top of that wager. A single deck was used and dealt from a purpose-designed box. Two cards were exposed, being a first card and a second card, with the first card deemed to be the losing card and the second card deemed to be the winning card.
Player wagers on card ranks not shown remained in action until resolved on a subsequent round. Player wagers to win on the card rank showing first lose, whereas player wagers to win on the card rank showing second win. Player wagers to lose on the card rank showing first win, whereas player wagers to lose on the card rank showing second lose. The game was played with a single deck and dealt down to the end with an option for a proposition wager on the last three cards. In play, the first card of the deck and the last card of the deck would not be used. An abacus was used to record the play of each card.
The house advantage occurred whenever each of the two dealt cards was the same rank. In this case, all wagers on that rank would lose half the stake to the bank. Once three of a certain rank had been dealt, two of that same rank could not occur and there was no house advantage on a wager on that rank. Therefore, the commission concept was introduced. The combination of commission and house advantage earlier in the deck, however, makes the house advantage too high for play in the modern casino environment.
In order to appeal to players and casinos, a modern version of Faro must have a reasonable and consistent house advantage and smooth method of operation. The proposed described invention seeks to address these requirements. The game according to the invention, so-called NuFaro, is preferably played with multiple decks of regular playing cards dealt from a standard shoe with a cut card inserted, to ensure that not all cards come into play. The gaming table layout consists of two distinct betting areas, one for the first card and one for the second card. Each area contains betting options for each of the thirteen card ranks, providing a total of twenty-six betting areas.
Additional wager options for each of the first and second card may be available for black or red, high or low, odd or even, specific suits and other propositions. Jacks, Queens and Kings each receive odd, even or neutral ranking according to game embodiment rules. Also, Ace receives high, low or neutral ranking, and the subsequent middle card, either seven or eight, receives a neutral ranking, as determined by game embodiment rules.
By creating wager areas for each of the first and second hand or card, the complication of the marker coin has been removed. Also, the concept of a card being a loser has been removed. When a wager on a first card rank has been placed, that wager wins when that card rank shows as the first card, and loses when that card rank shows as the second card. When a wager on a second card rank has been placed, that wager wins when that card rank shows as the second card, and loses when that card rank shows as the first card.
When the card rank with wager(s) at either the first card position or the second card position does not show as either card, then those wager(s) push or stay in action. The wager may either be returned to the player or must be played until resolved depending on the embodiment operated. When the card rank with wager(s) at either the first card position or the second card position shows as both first and second, then the methodology of operating the house advantage applies.
Depending on the preferred embodiment wagers on that card rank are either (1) won by the house, (2) sometimes won by the house and sometimes pushed as a tie, (3) sometimes won by the house and sometimes won by the player, or (4) sometimes won by the house, sometimes won by the player and sometimes pushed as a tie.
A preferred methodology of allocation of results is to utilize standard black and red cards and suit as relevant characteristics. For example, in scenario (2), a result may be a tie on either same suit or same color with others being losses respectively; in scenario (3), win for the same suit, with unsuited cards being a loss; or in scenario (4), win for the same suit, a tie for the same color, and loss for the other color.
The preferred use of multiple decks creates the possibility of same suit and rank for the two cards. Also, more decks used increases the frequency of the two cards being the same rank, so a variety of possible house advantages are available.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of playing a casino card game using at least one deck of cards, with each card having a suit and a rank, includes the steps of (a) receiving at least one wager from a player that a stake hand will appear in a first position or a second position, (b) dealing a first hand in the first position, and dealing a second hand in the second position, and (c) resolving wagers according to game rules. In this context, when the first hand is different from the second hand, wagers matching the first hand in the first position and wagers matching the second hand in the second position win, and wagers matching the first hand in the second position and wagers matching the second hand in the first position lose. Additionally, when the first hand is equivalent to the second hand, wagers matching both the first hand in the first position and the first hand in the second position or wagers matching both the second hand in the first position and the second hand in the second position are resolved according to characteristics of the first hand and the second hand.
When neither the first hand nor the second hand matches the stake hand, step (c) is preferably practiced by maintaining the wager in play for a next round. The first hand preferably consists of a first card, and the second hand preferably consists of a second card. The characteristics of the first hand and the second hand may include at least one of card suit and card color. Wagers matching both the first hand in the first position and the first hand in the second position or wagers matching both the second hand in the first position and the second hand in the second position may be paid when the first card and the second card are of a same suit. When these cards are of a same color, the wagers are preferably pushed, and when the first card and the second card are of a different color, the wagers are preferably taken.
The stake hand is preferably a hand having predetermined characteristics, including at least one of card rank, card suit, card color, and whether the card is odd or even. Alternatively, the predetermined characteristics may include at least one of hand rank, and a numerical computation with reference to prescribed rankings of high/low or odd/even. This hand rank may be defined according to poker combinations.
Step (a) may be practiced by requiring a player to wager on both the first hand in the first position and the second hand in the second position. Preferably, winning wagers are paid 1 to 1. One or more proposition wager areas may also be provided to enable the players to wager that the first card/hand and the second card/hand will have a preset relationship, such as same rank, suit or both or a specific same rank or the like.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an apparatus configured for playing a card game includes a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and a processor configured to effect game play, wherein the processor enables the method according to the present invention.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, an apparatus configured for playing a card game includes a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and circuitry for effecting game play. The apparatus includes structure for receiving at least one wager from a player that a stake hand will appear in a first position or a second position, structure for dealing a first hand in the first position and dealing a second hand in the second position, and structure for resolving wagers according to game rules, such as those discussed above.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a casino card game includes at least one deck of cards, with each card having a suit and a rank, and a game table. The game table includes a dealer area having a first hand position for a first dealt hand and a second hand position for a second dealt hand, and a plurality of player betting areas for placing at least one wager that a stake hand will appear in the first hand position or the second hand position. Wagers are resolved according to game rules, such as those discussed above.